Tomb Raider: Love After The Storm
by Charles Spencer
Summary: The legend of the woman the world will know as Lady Lara Croft has begun, but she must travel a lonely and dangerous road. It will mean leaving behind the most important person in her life, Samantha Nishimura. But the love that has grown between them will ensure Lara's farewell won't be a lasting one... Be warned, this M-rated story spoils the end of the new game! Updated!


**UPDATE as of 4-5-13: I re-edited this story to make it better. For those of you who already read this, I hope you like the changes!**

**To help introduce this story, I finished playing the newest "Tomb Raider" game only a few days ago, and it was rocking-awesome! It also inspired me to write this brief yet passionate short story set only a handful of hours after the game's end. Naturally, I have to give the following warning...**

**SPOILER ALERT! THIS STORY TELLS WHAT HAPPENED AT THE END OF THE GAME!**

**As you'll see as you read, that's not all. It struck me how close Lara Croft and supporting player Samantha Nishimura were...and I couldn't help but wonder if they might become even closer (ahem!) because of their experience on Yamatai? That combined with Lara's solemn drive to save Sam during the last leg of the adventure, which was no different from the classic hero's crusade to save his damsel in distress from the villains, made me think one thing: romance!**

**I know some of you must be asking, why Lara and another girl? I say, why not? Besides, don't tell me the idea doesn't interest you! Fair warning, though, this story and its language can get mature!**

**Disclaimer: this is for entertainment only. "Tomb Raider", Lara Croft and its characters owned by Square-Enix, Eidos and Crystal Dynamics!**

**TOMB RAIDER: LOVE AFTER THE STORM**

**by Charles Spencer**

**The **_**Dauntless**_**, a large cargo freighter, sped full steam through the Pacific waves toward Okinawa, Japan.** That destination was still very distant, not even visible on the horizon. The freighter was slightly behind schedule because its crew stopped to take aboard unexpected passengers about six hours before within the fringe of what was known as the Dragon Triangle, an area which was calmer than they had ever seen it before. The Triangle was known for its dark, deadly storms, and the experienced sailors of the _Dauntless_ always bypassed it on previous runs. The four passengers the freighter took on, along with an aged and heavily rusted PT boat from the Second World War they had used, proved to be as extraordinary as the story they had to share. A story of how they found and, after several days of living nightmare, finally escaped the no longer mythic island of Yamatai.

The ship's doctor ensured they were all given shots for malaria, tetanus and many more diseases, for their sakes as a precaution. Outside of that, they simply but desperately needed a hot shower. One of the four, a young British woman, was a surprise to the doctor. He asked his female nurse to carefully examine her because she looked like she'd literally been to Hell and back...she'd been in what appeared to be battle, if not an outright war, and even expertly treated herself for wounds she'd suffered during whatever ordeal she'd been through. The girl had even cauterized one of her most serious wounds in the field herself. The nurse didn't have to do much more than ensure that the wounds were already healing, but the girl was told some scars would remain.

Lara Croft already knew she would carry scars from the nightmare she and her friends barely survived...and she didn't mind at all. Scars were a small price to pay for the baptism of fire she went through, an ordeal that painfully transformed her into a survivor in the same way a piece of steel was transformed into a sword by a weaponsmith in their forge. Scars didn't matter to her as much as the fact that she succeeded in saving Joslyn Reyes, Jonah Maiava and most importantly her dearest friend, Samantha Nishimura. Lara saved them all from the insane, vicious evil of cultists, lunatics and far, far worse on the lost island of Yamatai, the nearly-forgotten kingdom of the Sun Queen, Himiko. But there were so many who were part of her expedition to find Yamatai who didn't survive, and that knowledge was what scarred her soul inside the most. The girl wished with all her heart she had been able to save Conrad Roth, Grim, Alex and so many others.

At the bow of the _Dauntless_, Lara Croft stood on the main deck and looked thoughtfully at the horizon ahead, which was deepening in vibrant color as the sun descended in the west. She eagerly took her shower a couple of hours before as her clothes were quickly washed by one of the ship's crew; the shower didn't take away all of the aches in her body she still felt. Her pale tank top and bra were a bit worn, but in better shape than her pants, which needed stitching up in a few places but were still in one piece. At least she didn't have to borrow someone's shorts or something. Her once-new boots, meanwhile, were none the worse for wear from days of often-frantic, perilous travel...they only needed a lot of blood cleaned from their leather. Lara thought of all she had been through, and of the questions she needed to have answered. How many more threats like Himiko had the world forgotten with the passage of time? Could one of those threats be the mysterious Trinity, which sought to investigate Yamatai and failed, or was it something more benign? Before, Lara was so unsure of what to do with the rest of her life; she was uncertain of how to chart the course of her own future.

Not anymore.

The beautiful young woman hardened by her hellish trial on Yamatai knew what she wanted now. She wanted to understand, and not simply because of the wise old saying that those who forget their past are condemned to repeat it. She feared the past might come back to haunt the present in ways that couldn't yet be imagined, and she had no doubt there would be many with evil intent who would want to hunt for those darkest of secrets lost to time for their own ends, like Mathias and his Solarii, or simply to take long-lost treasures for the sake of greed.

Lara Croft knew she had to be ready for them...and she had to face such dangers alone.

She would never take anyone with her and endanger them again. Ever.

Lara wanted so dearly to put off what she needed to do next, but she knew with increasing sadness she couldn't, even though it would hurt so damned much. The girl moved into the ship then and sought out one of her fellow survivors. She had already talked to Reyes and Jonah.

The girl paused before she knocked on the steel door to the cabin...she thought, _God, how do I say this to her?_

Lara rapped the door a few times loudly, and from the other side she heard a female voice quickly say, "Hello, come in!"

Lara entered, and she immediately felt warm seeing Samantha Nishimura again...her black, bobbed hair framed her beautiful face gently as she wore her normal clothes, a t-shirt and jeans that favored her lithe body, and hiking boots like Lara's. Her leather jacket was draped lazily on a chair at a desk. When they got away from Yamatai, which according to her family history was the young Japanese-American girl's ancestral home, Sam was so desperate to get away from the damn place she didn't want to take the time to change from the ceremonial dress she was forced to wear by Mathias for that terrible ritual with Himiko. Now she was clearly in brighter spirits as she smiled and nodded. "Hi, Lara!"

Lara's smile showed only a hint of how much she adored her friend. "Hullo, Sam. Are you feeling better?"

"Much better, thanks. I've got to admit, I still feel this chill running through me."

Lara frowned a little as she entered and closed the door behind her. "What do you mean?"

Sam's smile faltered a little. "Well, it's not every day I'm almost possessed by a witch brought back from the dead." The girl's expression became serious then as she remembered, and it was clear she didn't want to remember. "It felt like...I-I was being pulled out of my body. I knew if I gave up, I'd be dead..."

Lara had already moved close to Sam...they automatically, instinctively took each other's hands needfully. Lara said soothingly, "And you didn't. You've always been stronger than you think you are, Sam."

A solemn smile formed on Sam's lips. "Only because you gave me strength, Lara. I heard you call to me again and again. Even over the noise of the storm, I heard your voice. I knew you'd save me, and that gave me the strength to fight Himiko." She remembered being in the eye of that last horrible storm...Himiko's power reached into her and pulled hungrily at her soul so the ancient, undead queen could take her place in the girl's body. Sam's eyes suddenly became wet with tears...those moments were still so raw in her memories, and she knew how lucky she was to be alive. She looked at the one who saved her and could only manage, "Lara, I..."

Lara gently whispered, "Come here." Then she pulled Sam close to take her into her arms, and the young women held each other needfully for a time neither bothered to measure. As Sam cried into Lara's shoulder, her body shuddered from the core of her soul...moments passed, and with Lara's warmth, those shudders eased slowly to nothing. They relaxed into each other as they embraced.

Sam finally pulled back, only a little, to look Lara in the eyes as they held each other. Her own eyes were red from crying, but her expression was full of gratitude. Sam truly smiled again and said, "Thank you. Shit...those words sound so small. I can never, ever thank you enough for saving me..."

With great regret, Lara shook her head. "Sam, I was part of why you were there in the first place - !"

Sam quickly scolded Lara: "Would you stop that? I'm not gonna blame you for things that you couldn't control!" Sam's expression softened again and she asked, "When I say thank you, just say...'you're welcome', okay?"

Lara bit her lower lip self-consciously. She didn't deserve to know someone as wonderful as Sam, she thought. "Okay...and you're truly, deeply welcome." As they held each other, one of Lara's hands lifted to touch Sam's cheek tenderly. Lara said, nearly in a whisper, "My dear, sweet Samantha."

Sam echoed Lara's gesture and one of her hands carefully touched the British girl's hand with a feather softness...she felt even warmer then, but she was also so concerned for Lara, the one she held so dear. "I can't even imagine what it was like for you, Lara. Fighting those bastards time and again just to survive." Sam's eyes examined Lara and she said softly, "You've definitely changed."

"You wouldn't believe some of the things I had to do, Sam. You truly wouldn't." Lara looked down, away from Sam's eyes, as she frowned. "Mathias said I killed so many simply to survive...just like he did..." She still remembered her first kill. The deafening sound of the gunshot. Feeling the bastard's blood and brain matter splash upon her face. And she had to kill many, many more after that...she had to in order to survive, to save those she held dear...and each life she took was so damned easier than the last...

Sam's face drew closer to Lara's as she said, "Mathias said a lot of things, and they were all bullshit. He killed people because he was selfish and crazy and wanted off the island, and he didn't care who he hurt." Sam's hand moved and gently touched Lara's chin, gently goaded her to look up again...Lara did so, and Sam's smile was genuine and reassuring. "But you didn't just kill to survive. You wanted to survive to help me and Roth, Jonah and everyone so we'd escape Yamatai. You're truly a hero, I swear to God you are!"

Lara's frown didn't leave her beautiful face...there was still a haunted quality in her eyes. "I never knew being a hero would cost so much. I have changed. I feel so much...older now."

"Lara, we're each the end result of the experiences we've had in our lives. You just went through a _lot_, so of course you'd feel older! But you're also stronger...that's at least one good thing you can take away from this." Sam suddenly thought of someone she and Lara both cared for, someone who didn't survive Yamatai, and she suddenly wanted to cry again. Sam found her strength and kept her voice steady, even as she felt new tears fall down her cheeks, when she said, "Roth would be so proud of you..."

Lara sobbed gently as she also felt once again the elemental loss of her mentor, Conrad Roth...if it wasn't for him, she wouldn't have known what to do to survive. She wouldn't have been able to save herself, much less anyone else, if not for everything he taught her. Lara felt her own tears fall as she softly said, "Thank you."

For more uncounted moments, they held each other as they remembered.

Then...they both managed to gather themselves and they carefully parted from their embrace. Sam still held one of Lara's hands in both of hers as she asked, "So...now what? I know we've got a crazy story to tell the world when we get home - !"

"No." The word was soft yet firm from Lara's lips. She felt soul-deep sadness again, but for a different reason. She had to tell Sam. She had to. Lara then said some of the hardest words she ever said in her life: "You and the others will have to go without me, Sam."

Sam's entire being seemed to pause...she stared at her loved one with a stunned expression. "L-Lara...?"

Lara hated herself as she told Sam what she needed to say. "We went in search of Yamatai to discover the past, and we did...and it cost so much more than we could have imagined. And when we found the answers...it only made me ask more questions. I need to find the answers, Sam, no matter where I have to go to search for them."

For a beat, Sam's eyes examined Lara again...and the girl finally asked, "This isn't just about following in your dad's footsteps anymore. Is it?"

Lara Croft shook her head slowly. "No. Once, I felt the need to escape my father's shadow...try to surpass him somehow. He thought there was so much more to this world than we can see, and I wanted to prove him wrong." She looked off into space and managed a fond smile. "I know my father and I at least had archeology in common, even if I never got to know him." Lara then looked at Sam, her expression determined in its set. "But my father was right...Himiko was proof of that. What other threats like her are out there in the shadows of tombs yet to be found again? The future of maybe our world might depend on what I find. I have to search for the answers...because there will undoubtedly be those like Mathias who will be searching, too. And they won't care who they hurt to get what they want."

Samantha Nishimura understood what Lara was saying...but only in part. Eagerly, she said, "I want to come with you, Lara. I'll help you find those answers - !"

Quickly, Lara almost shouted back, "No, Sam! That can't happen!"

The young American girl asked, "Why not?! You can't just rush off to raid tombs and wherever all by yourself! You'll need help!"

Adamant, Lara's expression became hard then as she refused Sam...as she hated herself more and more for the words that came out of her mouth. "That's for _me_ to decide, Sam, and I've decided to go this alone! There is nothing you can do to help me! You understand?!"

Sam reacted like she was slapped, the words hit her so hard. She reflexively let go of Lara's hand and took a step back haltingly. Sam's beautiful face became a turbulent mix of emotion, but Lara saw first and foremost how confused and hurt her dear friend suddenly was. Samantha finally said quietly, "Yeah...yeah, I do understand." She turned away from Lara and the posture of her lovely body tensed visibly. Sam looked down as her expression darkened with anger and pain, and she felt herself start to cry again. "I was pretty much useless before...I couldn't even help fix a boat. I was never taught all the things Roth taught you. I'd just get in your damn way, right?!"

Lara felt a jolt of panic rush through her soul and she moved to Sam, took one of the girl's slender arms, and made her turn around. The move surprised Sam and almost made her forget her anger...but then Lara, with near-desperation, took hold of both the girl's arms and stared needfully into her wide, wet eyes. Lara Croft said, her words thick with emotion, "Dammit, Sam, that's _not_ why! I could take as much time as I'd have to in order to teach you everything Roth taught me about how to survive, how to hunt, and how to fight, and I still wouldn't take you with me! I asked you to follow me to Yamatai, and look at what happened because we had no idea what we were going to deal with! I almost lost you once, and I can't let that happen again...I am so sorry, _but I won't put you in danger again! I love you too bloody much!_" Lara began to weep again as she asked, she implored, "Please, if you love me, tell me you understand...please..." Lara looked down again in shame as she held Sam's arms gently.

Feeling shame of her own, Samantha Nishimura drew closer to Lara as she fully absorbed her words...words that were so beautiful to Sam. She sighed deeply and said, "I understand, Lara...I-I mean, I understand _now_." Lara looked at Sam, whose expression was again full of grateful adoration...and something more. Her eyes gleamed brightly, not simply from tears, as she said softly, "Never doubt for a moment I love you, too. I-I love you so much - !"

Then, taken away by impulse, Sam closed the distance between them and her slender hands flew up to cradle Lara's face...

...and Sam closed her eyes as she kissed Lara.

It wasn't just a friendly kiss...it was a kiss sustained for moments, full of elemental care and barely-contained passion. Lara felt it in Sam's soft, amazing lips, in the sweet, sweet touch of her hands upon her cheeks, and she couldn't help but close her eyes, as well. Even after everything she had been through, the young archeologist discovered in the heat of the moment, she could still be surprised.

Then...Samantha Nishimura gently broke the kiss and pulled away a little. They both opened their eyes and looked upon each other in a new, surprising light. Lara Croft could only barely whisper, "Sam..." She wasn't angry. She wasn't frightened. She was, without a doubt, astonished.

There was so much naked fear in Sam's eyes as she stepped back from Lara...she frowned and managed, "Oh, God. I-I can't believe I did that." Sam turned away from Lara quickly and crossed her arms under her breasts defensively. The beautiful American looked down thoughtfully at the floor of the cabin, feeling Lara's eyes on her. She truly liked the feeling.

And Samantha Nishimura softly spoke: "Ever since we first met in college, it felt so right to be with you. And we had so much in common, you know? Me, the airheaded American who wanted to be a filmmaker and you, the wannabe archeologist who had a famous dad." Sam looked up and said in a stronger voice, "And all of that time up to now, I could never tell you...how attracted I was to you. How I wanted to be with you all of the time, and not just because we both had a love for adventure..."

Lara Croft couldn't help but smirk a little, but her expression and her voice were still gentle. She had to ask. "And those times you got excited by our being around cute guys during some of those adventures...?"

A knowing curve formed on Sam's lips as she smiled too, but self-consciously. "Let's just say I've had a lot of practice...uh, playing things straight, no pun intended. Especially with my family. God, what my brothers would say if they found out their little sister was gay...!" She laughed a little. "I even kept the fact I was gay out of my journals. Just in case anybody else read them, y'know?" Sam finally turned to look at Lara again and she confessed, "Lara, you have always been so beautiful to me...and you're even more beautiful now because you've become so much stronger and braver than I can ever hope to be..."

Lara simply asked softly, "Sam, why didn't you say something before?"

Sam gave Lara a look and asked impatiently, "What _could_ I say?!" She spread her hands and said in a light tone, "'Hey, Lara! Guess what? I'm gay and I'm falling for you!'" She laughed again as she shook her head...but her face took a more solemn set as she stared at Lara. "Seriously...I was afraid of what might happen if I did tell you how I felt. I was so afraid of what might change...I was afraid I'd lose your friendship, I'd lose _you_..." Sam frowned then. "It's kinda funny, but it really, really isn't. The more time I spent with you, the more I fell in love with you...but my fear of losing you kept me from saying anything, and I felt like I was dying more and more inside because I was so afraid. The thought of losing you if I told you the truth was so much worse than anything I could imagine, you know?" Sam laughed one more time, but there was no humor in the sound...the girl finally looked down and said, "I'm not just useless...I'm a damned fool."

Lara also frowned and said with force, "No, you're _not_." Sam looked up at Lara, who declared, "You are not useless, you are absolutely not a fool...and most importantly, you were wrong."

Sam blinked, unsure. "Huh...?"

"You were wrong...because you should have said these things to me sooner." There was such a gentle expression in Lara's eyes then. And it wasn't just because she accepted this truth she never knew about Sam without judgment or reservation. Lara said in a much softer voice, "I can't deny that I've always felt an attraction toward you too, Sam."

Sam stared at Lara with wide eyes as she hoped and prayed she wasn't just hearing things. "Seriously...?"

Lara had a hidden truth of her own to reveal as she slowly stepped toward Sam. There was something primally needful in her eyes as she said, "I had no interest in any guys we met during our adventures before for a reason, Sam, and it wasn't because I was more interested in archeology. I wanted to be with you as much as possible, too." As Lara drew closer, her voice became thicker with an elemental love finally given release. "You are the most important person in the world to me, Sam. If I had lost you to Himiko, I would have died, too. If I couldn't have saved you, then I would have let Mathias kill me, or I would have taken my own life. I swear I would have." She meant every single word...

...and Sam felt the truth in Lara's words as her heart swelled with a happiness she couldn't have imagined. She said, barely above a whisper, "Oh, Lara..."

Lara reached Sam and stood before her, and it was the young archeologist who was self-conscious...but her voice gained more strength and certainty by the moment. She looked into Sam's eyes... "I also love you, Sam...I truly, deeply love you. For the longest time, I was also afraid. I didn't know what to do about my feelings...until now."

Only a foot of space separated the young women again as they stood in the middle of the cabin. The sounds of the Pacific waves and the activity across the ship outside, even the heavy smell of salt in the air, became more and more distant to them. Samantha Nishimura felt herself calm as she asked, "So...what are you gonna do now?"

Lara Croft smiled and answered simply, "I'll show you." And she did: Lara closed the distance between them, wrapped her arms around Sam, and kissed her tenderly. They both closed their eyes, and both were swept away by the sensation. Sam's arms rose to embrace Lara as well, and their kiss began to deepen...their mouths opened slowly, carefully, as their lips pressed together hungrily. One of Lara's hands rose to cradle the back of Sam's head, her fingers combing into her black hair, and pulled Sam even closer as their tongues reached out and found one another. They began a slow, sweet dance in their mouths as their breaths through their noses quickened.

Minutes melted away as the young women kissed with increasing passion, knowing the wonder of each other's mouths. Inevitably...that wasn't enough. Sam's hands moved to cradle Lara's face again and she carefully ended their kiss, managing barely to pull away from her lover. They looked into each other's eyes for a moment as they both breathed shakily...they each felt the other's pulse racing. Then Sam quickly moved to the door to the cabin and locked it tight. She'd be damned if they'd be interrupted, and if anyone came knocking...well, their tough luck if they were ignored.

Sam turned back, and felt her heart skip a beat...she saw Lara was already impatient to undress. Lara had stripped from her tank top and bra, and Sam froze with wonder staring at the topless beauty and her full, amazing breasts as she dropped those clothes to the floor. The young archeologist bit her lower lip, briefly afraid, but she felt a rush of relief as it became clear the very sight of her was a wondrous one to the American. Sam moved back to Lara as she took off her t-shirt - she didn't wear a bra underneath - and Lara was amazed by Sam's beauty, as well...by her slightly smaller yet perfect breasts...by the color of her skin, a rich complexion like coffee with cream...

Lara managed to refocus as Sam got closer and she began to unbuckle the belt of her pants...but then her lover was there, and she was given help. Two pairs of slender hands worked together slowly to unbuckle and undo Lara's pants as they stared into each other's eyes. After a moment, Sam lowered to her knees as she pulled the pants and panties down Lara's long, athletic legs down to her ankles. Sam couldn't help but breathe shakily as she took in all of Lara's nude beauty...the hero still wore the corded necklace around her neck...and Sam's expression was a stunned one as she saw how many cuts, bruises and worse Lara suffered, but none of them took away even an iota of her body's naked perfection.

Sam rose slowly again, transfixed by the sight of the one she could only secretly adore for so long...she looked into Lara's eyes as the British girl lifted a hand to undo her ponytail, and her long auburn hair spilled down her back and over her shoulders. Sam managed to whisper: "My God, you're beautiful."

Lara solemnly shook her head and said softly, "Not as beautiful as you are, my dear."

They both felt a terrible nervousness then. Everything was going to change between them, once and for all...they would no longer be friends, but lovers...and they both wanted that more than anything. They wanted each other, and they wanted to satisfy that hunger desperately as Lara stepped from the pants and underwear; her socks and boots were still on her feet. Lara then deliberately echoed her lover and reached out to tenderly undo Sam's jeans...and their eyes never left one another as Lara descended to her knees, taking Sam's jeans and panties with her. And then all of Sam was there, fully nude for Lara to take in as well except for the socks on her feet after she kicked her jeans away...nude in more ways than one because Sam's vagina, unlike Lara's, was hairless. Sam once told Lara long ago, "If I'm going out into the woods or any kind of wild area making a film, I'm not gonna let any ticks or anything else nasty latch onto my netherregions!" She'd had laser treatments to eliminate her hair there accordingly...and that aspect in particular of the American girl's beauty, being as nude between her legs as the day she was born, was somehow so tantalizing to Lara.

Lara finally rose to her feet after a moment, and then Sam took hold of her and they kissed again needfully. They felt the softness of each other's bodies in their arms as their tongues danced again for a few moments. Sam then gently goaded Lara to move only a few feet to one of the bare walls of the cabin. Well, it wasn't exactly bare. Time and natural corrosion from salt in the air due to the ship's crossing the ocean's waves again and again created rust everywhere, even in the cabin. Paint had peeled back from the patches of rust in the cool metal wall, and Lara felt their rough, almost sandpapery texture in more than one place on the skin of her back, but she didn't mind. For them both, the solitude they were given by this cabin was perfect.

Sam held Lara and kissed her lips quickly. Lara returned the embrace as they both smiled. Sam said gently, "I told you before, I could never thank you enough for saving me..." Then a wicked curve formed in the American's lips as she finished, "...but I'm still gonna try." Sam's face then moved to Lara's perfect neck, and she began to show her gratitude with earnest as she kissed and licked from her lover tenderly...at times, her lips and tongue brushed against Lara's necklace. Lara sighed shakily from the senastions which could only build...because Sam moved from her neck down to her full breasts and started suckling and fondling them each with total devotion. Lara began to moan with each exhale as she looked down and watched as Sam deviously yet lovingly nibbled at each nipple with her teeth as she caressed the British girl's breasts.

"Ohhh," Lara managed. "Y-you naughty girl, you...!"

Samantha Nishimura smiled even more...her lover had no idea how naughty she could be. But Lara Croft was quickly enlightened as Sam slowly made her way down the hero's body, using her lips and tongue every inch of the way with a tenderness that made Lara squirm with pure delight. Sam paused briefly to look upon the area of Lara's slender midsection where she had to cauterize the worst wound she suffered on Yamatai. With an elemental care that expressed the adoration she felt for her hero, Sam closed her eyes and began to sweetly kiss and tongue the scar tissue and the skin around it...time beyond measure passed as Lara's exhales became moans of bliss as she caressed her own breasts.

Then...Sam descended and found a very special destination...Lara almost stopped breathing with anticipation as she spread her legs, and they were almost in a straddling position; she shifted her weight to as her back leaned against the wall. Her quiet breaths full of nervous hunger, Sam paused only for a moment as she knelt before Lara, the soft touch of her hands on Lara's inner thighs. Sam drew close as her face tilted upward, and she looked up into Lara's eyes as she opened her mouth...and Sam's warm, moist tongue began to lick... Lara closed her eyes and her expression slackened as she felt new, amazing levels of bliss. At first, Sam was tender in her ministrations...and then her hands moved, and her fingers gently touched Lara's lips and pulled them a bit wider and her tongue began to reach deeper.

Lara Croft shuddered from the building euphoria as she vigorously caressed her own breasts...she couldn't take her eyes from her lover's as she moaned with increasing volume, "Oh yes, Sam...oh, just like that...oh! _Ohh!_" Samantha Nishimura responded silently by reaching deeper into Lara with her tongue, and her face drew closer as her mouth opened wider. She watched as the British beauty writhed and trembled from the feeling, and Sam couldn't have asked for more. Finally, Sam's lips pressed fully against Lara's between her legs as she closed her eyes and put all of her effort into reaching deeper into her lover...ever deeper.

Needless time passed, and Lara's gorgeous nude form stiffened and she cried out with each exhale as she came, and Sam drank in her juices eagerly, joyously. But the American was far, far from done...she wasn't nearly done showing her thanks to her hero. Sam clutched Lara's upper thighs in her hands as she continued to lick relentlessly, and the lovers were locked in this unique, primally intimate kiss. Lara's very soul was swept away in ecstacy as her perfect body writhed, and she gently held Sam's head in her hands, desperately goading her to take her tongue deeper, and she came again...and again...

This perfect, amazing kiss felt like it lasted forever, but when it ended, it felt like it had been too damned brief. Samantha slowly eased her efforts until she was softly licking from Lara's wet lips at first...and then she lovingly kissed those lips with total devotion again and again. Lara's hands moved and found Sam's and helped her stand. Then there was no distance between their mouths again when the American drew close...and Lara tasted herself in Sam's mouth, on her lips, and the rush of it was indescribable.

Lara managed to part from the kiss, but she kept hold of Sam in her arms. Neither wanted to let the other go. Lara finally managed to catch her breath and said quietly, "I need you to lie down for me now, dear."

Sam smiled as she bit her lower lip, as Lara guided her to the cot in the cabin...it was small and modest with a wool cover, with a metal frame under the thin mattress to support whoever used it, but Lara thought it would be more than enough. Lara sweetly helped Sam lie down on her back and her head rested on the pillow. The sight of dear, sweet Sam naked was so wondrous to the hero...Sam crossed her legs as she laid on her back, and Lara looked at her lover's nude perfection between her parted legs. Lara's breaths were nervous as she finally tore her gaze away to look back into Sam's eyes.

Lara lowered to her knees on the cabin floor next to the cot, her eyes and Sam's fixed on one another completely. Lara then leaned forward, and the lovers closed their eyes as they kissed again deeply. As they kissed, as their tongues danced slowly, Lara's right hand moved and found one of Sam's breasts, began to caress it lightly, playfully. Sam moaned into Lara's mouth as her body trembled from the feeling her hero gave to her...the feeling could only escalate in intensity as Lara's caresses became much more passionate. By the time Lara's hand moved to her other breast to give just as much, Sam's moans heightened to keening hums as she let herself go to her lover's touch.

They never stopped kissing as Lara's hand traveled again, and caressed Sam's amazing body as it drifted lower...lower...and finally reached the American's nude vagina. Two fingers found Sam's lips between her legs then and began to rub her in what was most assuredly the right way. Sam purred into Lara's mouth as their tongues danced with higher abandon, and her hips began to gyrate in time with the motions of Lara's fingers. Even though her eyes and Lara's never opened, Sam's hands managed to find the cot's frame on either side of her and grabbed hold tightly. Time melted away, and the pace of Lara's fingers increased in speed as she masturbated Sam, whose hips also increased in their gyrations to match her.

Lara then lovingly inserted two of her fingers into Sam, and she began to thrust deeply as they kissed. The American's amazing nude body squirmed on the cot as she responded, as her hips worked faster...her pretty breasts heaved and she would have cried out with each exhale, but those cries were reduced to loud hums by their unending, loving kiss. Lara's fingers got very wet as her lover came. Time melted, and the thrusts of Lara's fingers took a furious pace, and it was all Sam could do to keep up as her hips bucked in time with her lover's touch. Sam's hands clenched the cot frame tightly and her knuckles whitened, and their tongues danced furiously with one another as their breaths rushed out desperately through their noses. Lara made Sam come a few more times in the minutes that followed.

Lara finally eased her thrusts, and her fingers gently caressed Sam between her legs for a few long, wondrous moments. Sam's cries had been reduced to whimpers in Lara's mouth as their tongues slowly relaxed, as well. Lara gently broke their kiss, and she opened her eyes as she lifted the hand that gave Sam so much pleasure to her own lips.

Samantha Nishimura was slowly coming down from the amazing rapture and finally opened her eyes to look at her lover...and saw Lara Croft suckling the two fingers she had used to give Sam ecstacy as her full, seductive lips pursed. Lara needed to taste from her lover so badly, and she wasn't disappointed that the fluid was so truly sweet. Sam forgot to breathe for a moment, but then Lara pulled her fingers from her mouth, and with a naughty smile offered them to Sam.

Sam eagerly lifted her head from the pillow a few inches and took Lara's fingers into her mouth...she tasted both herself and her lover, and she had to close her eyes again as he felt her head spin...it was beyond wonderful.

Lara Croft rose then and climbed onto the cot with Samantha Nishimura...on top of her...and in a way so that they could give to each other at the same perfect moments. Lara gently lowered herself, and she felt Sam's hands take hold of her behind...she gasped as she felt her lover's hungry tongue again, and she managed to whisper, "Naughty girl..." Lara's own breaths became shallow as her face descended, and she began to taste from Sam directly, as well.

For over an hour, the lovers took each other to the heights of ecstacy in this way and others...thankfully, they weren't interrupted.

Samantha Nishimura felt spectacular as she laid on her back on the cot, a light sheen of sweat covering her body, as she looked up at the ceiling with a blissful smile. She was physically exhausted, but she didn't care. Sam had forgotten the horror and pain of Yamatai for a while. Now, her thoughts were only on her hero. Her lover.

Lara Croft returned to the cot and gently laid atop Sam...she said she had to leave Sam for only a moment to get something, but they immediately held each other and gazed into one another's eyes. The love they felt for each other was perfect, and they wanted to stay this way always. But...Sam asked quietly, "You're sure you can't come back to England?"

Lara shook her head, but it was clear she was reluctant to do so. "I have a feeling the sooner I set out, the better."

Sam bit her lower lip softly as she looked into her hero's eyes. "I do understand why. I wish with all my heart I could be with you..."

Lara's eyes expressed true sadness as she gazed back. She told the truth: "So do I." But for the sake of necessity, to ensure no one else she loved would be harmed by the unknowable perils in her future...where Lara Croft had to go, it had to be alone. The hero managed a smile then and said, "However...I have this to give you." One of her arms moved and she held up a brass key in display.

Sam smiled too as she looked at the object with curiosity. "What's this for...?"

Lara answered, "It's the key to my heart, dear Sam...in a way. It'll let you into the main doors to Croft Manor."

Sam looked up at Lara with surprise. "Your home...?"

Lara nodded solemnly. "It can be your home, as well. I'll call Winston to let him know you can stay there anytime you want, and for as long as you want." Winston Smith, her family's butler. "I need to know where you'll be to find you when I'm not exploring."

The American girl felt her pulse jump with anticipation. "I hope you'll come to find me often...?"

Lara looked into the eyes of the one she adored and assured, "Oh, yes. I'll miss my home dearly...but not as much as I already ache to be in your arms again." Lara's face descended closer to Sam's as she embraced her fully again, with the purest love and tenderness, and she said in a soft voice that was full of steel: "I will come back to you, Sam. I promise my very soul that I'll _always_ come back to you."

Her voice was one of a survivor...one who always kept her promises.

Samantha Nishimura nodded, already hoping the next time she would see Lara wouldn't be too distant in the future. "Then I'll always be waiting for you, dear Lara." She gazed up into Lara's eyes and said, in a softer and adoring whisper, "I love you."

Lara Croft smiled and whispered back, "And I love you." Her face fell and she began to kiss her lover again...and for them both, the world faded away.

Outside, the ship continued to steam toward the distant horizon...

**THE END  
**


End file.
